Da Yoopers

Novelty act from Ishpeming MI, located in Michigan's Upper Peninsula, their name is a play on the term UP'er. Da Yoopers was founded in 1975 by drummer Jim DeCaire and guitarist Rodney "Joe" Potila, along with keyboardist Lynn Anderson and bass guitarist Jim Pennell. The band took their name from the word "yooper", a common term for people of the "U.P.", an abbreviation for the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and "Da" came from the Yooper dialect pronunciation of "the". The band toured throughout Michigan's Upper Peninsula for several years, before recording their first album, Yoopanese, in 1986 on their personal label, You Guys Records. This album included nine songs, all written by Potila and DeCaire. A second album, Culture Shock, was released a year later. This second album featured several comedy songs, including "Second Week of Deer Camp" and "Rusty Chevrolet" (the latter a parody of "Jingle Bells"), both of which became local hits, including airplay on stations in Chicago and Milwaukee. In addition, "Second Week of Deer Camp" would later be played on several Dr. Demento shows. "2nd Week of Deer Camp" has also received heavy radio air-play in North Central Pennsylvania annually since 1995 in late November and early December during deer hunting season. This album also featured humorous dialogue and skits between songs, a feature later duplicated both in concert and on subsequent albums. Several local guest musicians also performed on this album. By the release of Camp Fever, the band's third album, Pennell left and was replaced with Joe DeLongchamp. In addition, Lynn Anderson married Jerry Coffey, who joined as a vocalist and percussionist. It also included the first song of the band's career not to be written by Potila or DeCaire, as DeLongchamp wrote the title track. Yoop It Up, their fourth cassette, was released in 1989. Yoopy Do Wah, released in 1991, was the band's first album on compact disc, released shortly after Dave "Doc" Bradbury took over on bass guitar. Also that year, a compilation titled For Diehards Only was released, featuring a selection of songs from the group's first four albums. Da Yoopers' 1993 album One Can Short of a Six-Pack featured both regular and Christmas songs, including a parody of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer" titled "Grandpa Got Run Over By a Beer Truck". After the release of this album, both Potila and Bradbury departed the group. Potila was replaced with lead guitarist/vocalist Jim Bellmore, who made his first appearance on the 1995 album We're Still Rockin'. Bellmore also succeeded Potila as the band's main songwriter, usually working with DeCaire. "Cowboy" Dan Collins, who had previously appeared on two other albums as a backing vocalist, also officially joined as rhythm guitarist on this album, and Reggie Lusardi became bass guitarist afterward. Several members soon joined as sketch comedy actors as well: Dick Bunce (who also played bass guitar on some songs), Pete "Casanova" LaLonde, Jerry "Mungo" LaJoie and "Billy Bob" Langson. On December 11, 1998, Laughing Hyena Records released "Deer Camp Songs", a comedy album based on their song, "Second Week of Deer Camp". Two albums were released in 2000: Jackpine Savage and Naked Elves in Cowboy Boots, the latter an album of Christmas music. Both Dan Collins and Jerry Coffey left shortly after Naked Elves in Cowboy Boots. Songs for Fart Lovers and Diehards II (a second compilation composed of songs from the first four albums) both came out in 2004, with the two-disc 21st Century Yoopers in Space following in 2006. This album also featured several guest contributions in both performing and songwriting. Lynn, who divorced Jerry in 2005, was again credited as Lynn Anderson on 21st Century Yoopers in Space, and married Bellmore shortly after that album's release. Lusardi died May 8, 2016. Da Yoopers also own and operate a gift shop near Ishpeming called "Da Yoopers Tourist Trap", located in Ishpeming. This gift shop features various Upper Peninsula-themed merchandise. Da Yooper's tourist trap not only contains merchandise, but two museums as well. The first museum is a mineral museum that contains various minerals found in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. It also has exhibits related to the local mining culture. This museum is found inside of Da Yooper's Tourist Trap. The other museum is an outdoor museum that is more oriented towards humor. It contains such things as a large chainsaw, called Big Gus, a large rifle, called Big Ernie, and Da Two-holer (a very special outhouse). This comical museum has various other displays in which tourists are encouraged to see in order to understand the humor of the Yooper culture.